Rome airport scare: Man sets himself on fire in terminal

The Associated Press

ROME — An asylum seeker from Ivory Coast set himself on fire Thursday at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, alarming bystanders until police doused the flames and rushed the young man to the hospital, officials said.

The Italian Council for Refugees, a non-governmental organization known as CIR that works with refugees, said the 19-year-old man, set himself on fire in a bid to avoid deportation. On Wednesday evening, he had arrived at the airport on a flight from the Netherlands, which had sent him back to Rome, said CIR director Christopher Hein.

Italy is the country that had to rule on his asylum bid since he originally made his request to Italian authorities, Hein said. It was unclear if the man knew he had 15 days to appeal the deportation order, he said.

The man, who hasn't been identified, was admitted in critical condition to a Rome hospital. Hein said he is believed to have been informed by authorities at the airport that his asylum bid had been rejected.

The airport press office said the man had not yet passed through security when he set himself alight in the main international departure terminal. A police officer who intervened suffered burns on an arm.